Paley White Teacher

Vivian Gussin Paley is a white, Jewish teacher who is highly respected by parents, educators all over the country, and anyone who reads her thoughts on basic issues such as gender, story, play, and how children, especially kindergarteners, think. Paley is able to expose these young children to racism and separation in the classroom. In 1979, White Teacher was the first book Paley got published. This book is her argument that it is important to teach children to like themselves for who they are, but also appreciate and recognize the beautiful differences in their classmates. This book is an amazing learning experience for anyone who reads it.

Throughout the book, Paley describes her experiences working in many different schools. The schools

that she works in are predominately white, but are beginning the process of integration. Integration in classrooms is very difficult especially during the time this book was written. These schools were in middle-class neighborhoods, where black families were rarely living in. In the first class that is spoken about, there are only two black children. The white children think heavily in stereotypes that they most definitely heard from their parents. Paley discusses how one of her students, Leo argues, “People with brown skin are poor” (Pg. 6.)
Moreover, the young children continue to acknowledge differences through color. Instead of getting angry with the students, Paley wants them to know that this way of thinking is okay. For example, her white student Denise was pissed Valerie, a black student. Denise did not want Valerie to sit next to her. Her excuse was that the chair was not a ‘brown’ one. Paley handles the situation without addressing the color problem. She explains that Valerie could sit wherever she wanted and that Denise did not have the power to tell people where they can and cannot sit. During this time period, people did not refer to the color of one’s skin. Paley states, “In other words, we showed respect by completely ignoring black people as black people. Color blindness was the essence of the creed” (Pg. 9.) But when dealing with this negative behavior it is important not to focus too much on it. Paley explains about the behavior modification techniques she learned and found the best way to deal with negativity. She would give him compliments all the time, as long as he deserved them. The other part of this technique was to ignore the aggressive behavior as much as possible, and only stopping the harmful act. “The idea is that the abundance of attention given to positive behavior will diminish the negative behavior” (Pg. 16.) As much as Paley wanted this technique to work, it did not. She was forced to use time-outs. Later on Janet, Paley’s student teacher, explains that this didn’t work because guilt feelings never bring an improvement in behavior.
But Paley knew the only way to get over the whole issue of color was to talk about it. She began by using compliments to acknowledge how something looked great on an individuals brown skin. Paley constantly introduced positive aspects about everyone’s color so that her students could be comfortable in their own skin. Janet, Paley’s student teacher was a great advocate for this idea. No matter what the child said, looked like, or acted like, she liked every student equally. “This is a great comfort to children, having a teacher who likes everyone and knows how to show it” (Pg. 38.) Just because people are different from you does not mean that you won’t learn from them. In a classroom, children who learn to overcome obstacles presented by someone who looks or acts different can develop a good sense of confidence and self-esteem. Not only is there social growth, but also there is intellectual stimulation.
Next Paley begins to explain how crucial children’s play is to their development during these early childhood years. Children learn primarily through play. Gender plays a huge role in play. Paley notices that boys play a lot differently than girls do. Boys have no racial segregation. All the boys play what they want. All boys played together because they shared the same interests. Unlike the boys, the girls had a different way of playing with each other. Their playtime was segregated. The doll corner was where the black girls played. The white girls played pretend privately with each other. As for gender differentiations, the boys were a lot more physically active and spent a lot of time making props and costumes, where the girls were less physically active and spent less time making costumes and outfits. Paley could learn a lot about her students as she watched them play. “Among four-, five and six year olds, however, doll corner play begins to probe the personalities of children themselves. There is character and plot development that can continue over hours and days and even weeks. Not only is the structure of family examined, but the order of the peer group is questioned” (Pg. 84.)
For example, she knew something was wrong with Claire, when she did not have the ability to pretend or imagine anything. Paley decided to call Claire’s parents to see if something from home was involved in this problem. When her parents were confronted they explained that she spent a lot of time watching television. Paley wanted to know why she wasn’t outside playing with friends; the parents responded with, “There is no one for her to play with, you see. We do not wish for her to play with the black children on our street. They do not play well. We tell Claire not to play the way they play. They are very bad” (Pg. 61.) Because Claire spent all of her time watching television, she missed this crucial stage of development and was forced to learn in Paley’s classroom.
I think that Paley does a wonderful job proving her thesis.

She makes a difference in all of her children’s lives. She changes the way they think about color, race, and as individuals. She portrays her argument perfectly in this quote, “Those of us who have been outsiders understand the need to be seen exactly as we are and to be accepted and valued. Our safety lies in schools and societies in which faces with many shapes and colors can feel an equal sense of belonging. Our children must grow up knowing and liking those who look and speak in different ways, or they will live as strangers in a hostile land” (Pg. 132) Paley was way before her time period. She strongly believed in an integrated society and she always felt the need to plant the idea in the child’s head, so they wouldn’t grow up to have racist thoughts like their parents. Although there wasn’t many black children her class, she treated them all the same, and made sure they knew they were beautiful exactly how they are. Paley reasons, “It is often hard to learn from people who are just like you. Too much is taken for granted. Homogeneity is fine in a bottle of milk, buy in the classroom it diminishes the curiosity that ignites discovery” (Pg. 53.) Paley encounters a student named Michelle who when asked what was beautiful, she pointed to the girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Paley assured she is even more beautiful in her brown skin. I believe Paley is such an amazing teacher is because she is a white Jewish woman, who is able to point out differences and still acknowledge the fact of not judging another classmate based on another’s skin

tone.
All in all, this book really opened my eyes to the importance of diversity. When Paley noticed she was having problems with children accepting another student’s culture, she found ways to make them feel more welcomed. I hope that as a teacher I can create a classroom filled with all different cultures and celebrate them all equally. Especially after reading the article, “Dear White Teacher,” this book continues to enhance the importance of diversity for educators. Paley may have not worked in the same ways as Mrs. Lathan, but she definitely had the same effect on the children. Both teachers built a relationship based on trust and respect with their students. Mrs. Lathan instilled fear in her children; they wanted to work hard so they wouldn’t disappoint her. At the beginning of the book, Paley had a problem with some of the kids trusting her. She wondered if the black students would’ve had an easier time trusting her, if she was black. But as she continues to grow as an educator, her students respect her opinion and really trust what she says. Overall, it is important to let children know that they are perfect the way they are. Having black, white, green, red, or yellow skin does not make an individual better than another.